Sailors call You a bare rock
but after all those years
the waves roll me back to You.

Broken hopes and scattered dreams
You smile the scars away.

Walter Palm Copyright 2023

Was it salty shipwreck
that embittered
the sweetness of your dreams?

Or was it oppressive heat
that evaporated
the arc of your smile?

Tell me, my friend, tell me…

Was it wicked wind
that blew away
the roof of your pride?

Or was it spiny gravity
that stole
the lightness of your feet?

Tell me, my friend, tell me…

Was it icy moon
that eclipsed
the sun of your eyes?

Or was it thick dust
that disturbed
the serenity of your sky?

Tell me, my friend, tell me…
when did the laughing stop?

Walter Palm Copyright 2023

He used to laugh too loud
the student
his eyes full of books and blossoming love.

Tigers and mirrors of Borges,
Lorca’s moon and horses,
the devils of Baudelaire.

Days of “Yeah, yeah” and “Dr. No”.
Blue days when love was bitter,
bittersweet in the oasis of a smile.

Winding roads in the desert of adolescence
when he met himself in a desert storm
but he wasn’t sure it was him.

Walter Palm Copyright 2023

It was past midnight
and the devil was running free
when the fast driving car of Dodi and Lady Di
crashed into pillar number thirteen.

The judge said there was a faint curve
in the tunnel, and the driver was drunk
but I know what it was
they were simply cursed.

Crushed the ballad of Dodi and Lady Di
even before it properly started.
Fate showed no mercy, had no heart
at the Alma Bridge.

Walter Palm Copyright 2023

There were vultures,
their claws left scars on your heart.

There were hyenas, their hungry jaws wide open,
ready to tear your heart apart.

And there was also death
looming in the dark of the morning.

You moonwalked hyenas and vultures
left them all confused.

You couldn’t moonwalk death,
but your songs did.

Walter Palm Copyright 2023